Women's Soccer

Smith Earns Milestone 300th Victory

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -
History was made Friday night at Buck Shaw Stadium as Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith earned his 300th career victory, and the requisite ice water bath, following the No. 5 Broncos' 2-1 triumph over the Saint Louis Billikens.

In his 400th match at the helm of the Broncos and in his 19th season on the Mission Campus, Smith joined an elite group of coaches as he became only the third Division I women's soccer coach to reach the 300-win milestone. Smith now stands alongside North Carolina's Anson Dorrance and Connecticut's Len Tsantiris in the 300-win club.

"I'm not much for milestones, but I guess if you're going to have one, you kind of want it to be at something you're real proud of," said Smith, echoing his comments from earlier in the week when the possibility of win No. 300 was brought to his attention. "I'm kind of just glad that the number's behind us and we can focus back on training and playing and everything. But I'm very proud of what we've accomplished here at Santa Clara. I'm proud of the longevity of my tenure here and I'm hoping that Sunday starts the quest for the next 300. I hope that I have a chance to go after another 300."

Santa Clara's Meagan Snell got the Broncos on the board first in the 15th minute in a rapid-fire sequence off of a Bronco set-piece. After Billiken goalkeeper Abby Goellner couldn't reel in the rebound from Tina Estrada's free kick, she managed to save Snell's attempt at the loose ball before Snell gathered her own rebound and buried the second chance for the 1-0 lead.

Twenty minutes later, Snell again had a hand in a Bronco score, sending a touch-pass through two Saint Louis defenders to a streaking Brittany Klein who beat Goellner one-on-one for her first goal of the year.

But the Billikens fought back, and in the 45th minute a Santa Clara foul inside the box gave Saint Louis a chance to halve the Bronco lead. Kelly Ferguson stepped in and beat Julie Ryder on the penalty kick, pulling the Billikens within one before halftime.

The eventful first half of action, which saw a combined 12 shots between the two teams, gave way to a defensive battle in the final 45 minutes. Santa Clara took the only shot of the second half, and their defense was able to keep the Billiken attack in check and secure the milestone victory for Smith.

Santa Clara returns to action Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium as they take on the 19th-ranked Mustangs of Cal Poly. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.